Bombing suspect's friend convicted of lying

1of8Robel Phillipos, left, was convicted Tuesday on two counts of lying about the removal of evidence sought in the probe of the Boston Marathon bombing.
﻿Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

2of8Robel Phillipos departs federal court after he was convicted in Boston Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013, while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

3of8Robel Phillipos, center, departs federal court with defense attorney Derege Demissie, right, after he was convicted in Boston Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013, while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

4of8Robel Phillipos, center, departs federal court with defense attorney Derege Demissie, left, after he was convicted in Boston Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013, while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

5of8Robel Phillipos, center, departs federal court with defense attorneys Derege Demissie, left, and Susan Church, far right, after he was convicted in Boston Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013, while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

6of8U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Carmen M. Ortiz, makes a statement to the media after the conviction of Robel Phillipos on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013 at the Federal Court building Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 in Boston. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

8of8Robel Phillipos, center, departs federal court with defense attorney Derege Demissie, right, after he was convicted in Boston Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 on two counts of lying about being in the dorm room of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev three days after the bombing in 2013, while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

Robel Phillipos, 21, of Cambridge, was convicted of two counts for lying about being in Tsarnaev's dorm room while two other friends removed a backpack containing fireworks and other potential evidence three days after the bombing while authorities were looking for the suspected bombers. He looked straight ahead impassively as the guilty verdicts were read.

FBI agents testified that Phillipos told them a string of lies about the night of April 18, 2013, before finally acknowledging he had been in Tsarnaev's room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with the two men who removed Tsarnaev's backpack and computer.

Phillipos' lawyers said he was a frightened 19-year-old who was intimidated by the FBI and too high on marijuana to clearly remember what he did that night. The defense called several friends who said Phillipos smoked marijuana a half-dozen times that day.

The defense also called former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis to testify for Phillipos. Dukakis, an old family friend of Phillipos' mother, described a phone conversation he had with Phillipos five days after the bombings. Dukakis said Phillipos told him he had been questioned by the FBI for five hours but was so confused he didn't remember what he said.

The defense also claimed that Phillipos' alleged confession was coerced by FBI agents.

Phillipos' attorneys said they will ask the judge to vacate the convictions and also appeal the verdict based on their argument that any statements he made to the FBI were not "material" to the bombing investigation.

Phillipos was charged with two counts of lying during a terrorism investigation. The basis for those charges was nine lies he was accused of telling the FBI during two separate interviews. The jury found him not guilty on several of the supposed lies, but concluded he did lie in some instances, leading to the two convictions.

Prosecutors said Phillipos first told the FBI he hadn't been in Tsarnaev's dorm room that day and hadn't seen the backpack containing fireworks, only to later confess to being in the room with two other friends.

The jury, however, found that Phillipos wasn't lying when he told the FBI he didn't see the backpack or fireworks in Tsarnaev's dorm room. Defense attorney Susan Church said that showed the jury "clearly rejected the so-called confession."

The two friends who removed Tsarnaev's backpack were both convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Phillipos' sentencing is scheduled Jan. 29, and he faces a maximum sentence of 16 years, though first-time offenders like him typically get much less. Phillipos will remain under house arrest on an electronic monitoring bracelet until then.